Sunday, February 28, 2010

Today marks the end of February and the end of my first big work out challenge. While I have done the Shred off and on for several months, I haven't been dedicated to making it the entire month until now. And make it I did. In full disclosure I did not stick to the Shred every single day. Instead I alternated that with Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones which are 40+ minute workouts as opposed to the 20 minute Shred. I clocked in 11 1/2 hours of Jillian in 28 days. I made an effort to eat a little healthier in the first part of the month and then finally switched over to keeping on WW Points the second half of the month.

So, you'd think I would have seen a pretty significant change in the numbers wouldn't you? I certainly thought I would. But surprisingly, and perhaps a teeny tiny whole hell of a lot disappointing to me is the fact that I didn't. I didn't see any appreciable change in either weight or measurements which pretty much baffles me.

But, there are big positives. I am so much stronger at the end of this month than I was at the beginning. I can run all over chasing the kids and never get out of breath. I feel light years stronger and can see definition in all sorts of places where it wasn't before. And I have apparently been brainwashed into liking exercise which I cannot believe. I find myself absentmindedly doing cardio while waiting for Jillian to finish her opening spiel and I find ways to fit in workouts even when I really don't have time for them. I can bust through Level 1 and actually modify several of the exercises to make them harder. So even though I haven't changed on the outside, Jillian has certainly managed to kicked my brain into shape.

Looking to March I will continue to stay on Points as much as I hate it. WW is really great and I loved it the first time around but it is so much easier to have meals you like that are Points friendly when you only have yourself to worry about. With a husband and kids to feed and eight million other things to do it is hard to find the time to stay focused on getting the math to work out. Stick with Jillian for the rest of the month doing Shred on the days I don't have time for a full workout and upping the frequency of BFBM since I suspect more cardio wouldn't hurt. NMTZ is by far my favorite because I love all the strength training but I need the cardio too. If, after the next month I still don't see my stats going anywhere then I will reassess but I hope that won't be the case.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

We took the kids to the circus today. I hadn't been in probably 10 years and it has changed quite a bit. I guess you expect the staples of childhood to always remain pretty much the same so I'm not sure how I feel about it. The kids had a great time even though the Weebs spent the first twenty minutes asking where the tigers were.

I also feel conflicted about the animal situation. Clearly it isn't ideal for them to be shuttled from town to town on the train. I can only hope that the people that work with them day in and day out see to it that they are taken care of as well as the situation allows.

I was mostly impressed with the behind the scenes work. I didn't even watch half of the colorful spinning hip hop abacadabra. I found the army of people wearing black that were making it all happen much more interesting. It is amazing how organized and choreographed the whole production is.

I'm glad we went, and I'm glad the kids had so much fun. Must admit I'm disappointed at what the circus has turned into though. The circus just isn't the circus without the clown car.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Many thanks to Crunchy Domestic Goddess for bringing this video to my attention. Jamie Oliver has always been one of my favorite chefs.

This issue particularly hits home for me. When I was pregnant with Weebles and after she was born I spent a great deal of time and effort buying only organic and switching out all our cleaning products with natural alternatives. We still stick with all the personal/cleaning products but have drifted away from all organic food although we certainly still buy it when it is readily available. The problem is that it is really damn hard to eat healthy, fresh, local organic food on a budget. With two small children I simply don't have the time to travel 30 minutes to a specialty grocer to buy all the items that I would ideally like. Not to mention the several hundred dollars a month I would likely spend doing so. Also, in order to get really good organic food it is necessary to eat what is in season. I don't have the know how as it is to make this work for my family.

This is the kind of thing that should be taught in schools. What is in season at various times of the year and the best ways to serve it. Recipes and cooking techniques for making quick, healthy meals at home. Where in the hell did home economics go? When did someone decide that knowing how to dress yourself and feed yourself was no longer necessary? I still don't know how to properly iron a shirt. That knowledge would have served me far better than knowing how to conjugate a french verb. Thanks to this timely reminder I am going to sign up for the local CSA. I have been intimidated in the past by all the vegetables on the list that I wouldn't readily know how to cook. I am challenging myself to learn about them and find ways to serve them to my family. Eggplant parm anyone?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

I took the kids to see Andrew at his office today. We hadn't been in over a year and Peanut had never been at all. This wasn't exactly a planned trip but Andrew forgot his lunch and since he was going to have to go out anyway we thought it was a good chance to have lunch with him. Since it is an hour commute each way this took up the major part of our day but I think it was worth it. The kids had fun and ate a bunch of french fries and ketchup. We'll have to put it on our rotation of things to do every so often.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Not only did he find his sister's crayons and is about to go crazy on that wall behind him, he climbed up in a chair in order to get on top of the table he is sitting on to do so. That look in his eye tells me he knows all too well that he is in trouble.